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Police officer gets 30 days over nightclub incident

“They arrived in a police vehicle, and the gun that was brandished was pulled from the police vehicle. Police are in a position of trust and they have a duty to keep the peace, not to disturb it, so when civilians see police vehicles they shouldn't have to fear them, they should be icons for safety,” said Assistant Attorney General Alema Leota.

 

The comment was made by the prosecutor during the sentencing of Vice and Narcotics Senior Police Detective Ioane Johnny Paselio due to an incident which led to the damaging of a night club in Pago Pago.

 

The government charged Paselio with two counts of third degree assault, property damage, possession of a prohibited weapon, possession of arms without a license and public peace disturbance, which are all misdemeanors. However the defendant pled guilty to third degree assault and possession of arms without license, and in return the government moved to dismiss the remaining charges.

 

 During sentencing last Friday, Assistant Public Defender, Mathoni McCormick pointed out that his client, Paselio has expressed remorse for the incident, as stated in the pre sentence report prepared by the Probation Officer. “It’s out of character to behave in such a manner; he acknowledged it’s his fault in doing so and takes full responsibility for the consequences of his actions,” said the defense counsel, who also asked the court to recognize Paselio’s outstanding service of 16 years on the force. “My client has agreed to time, and we would ask the court to consider granting him weekends to allow him to continue with his duties and responsibilities at work.”

 

Paselio admitted to the court that “today (Thursday) is a very hard day for me to sit here, and the choice I made that night affected my life, especially my family. I just want to say I’m sorry and I’m deeply sorry for what happened and I apologize to the court and to my family.”

 

Leota pointed out to the court that as far as District Court cases go, “this is one of the more serious cases that we’ve had.” In this matter the AG’s office had two assaults and one property damage charge, which was dismissed after the defendant paid restitution.

 

“While it’s unclear whether the defendant was on duty that night, it is clear that they used a police vehicle.” (Samoa News notes that the prosecutor referred to they, meaning Paselio and police officer Geoffrey Tagaloa, who was not charged in this matter.)

 

Leota further stated that the officers arrived in a police vehicle and the gun that was brandished was pulled from a police vehicle. “Police are in a position of trust and they have a duty to keep the peace not to disturb it,” he told the court, “so when civilians see police vehicles, they shouldn't have to fear them, they should be icons for safety.”

 

He pointed out to the court that for jail time, the AG’s office believes that instead of weekends they recommend a 30-day straight sentence, and for reasons stated, the government’s recommendations are proper.

 

Leota informed the court that Paselio would be held in Ta’u, Manu’a (at the holding cell there) however the difficulty is the scheduling of his departure and return.

 

The AG’s office requested another hearing to discuss the housing in this matter, given that the boat to Manu’a left Wednesday night and the option of transporting Paselio to Manu’a in the next couple of days is no longer available. “So we would have to come up with some other plan with regard to housing, rather just have him serve 30 days straight.”

 

District Court Judge Elvis Patea pointed out that based on the pre sentence report, the court is aware that Paselio for the most part is a law abiding individual who’s had no negative employment history, and that’s reflected in this report. He said the court’s view as far as the plea agreement in this matter is to place the defendant on probation for 18 months, and he must attend and complete alcoholic counseling, pay fines and serve his 30-day jail term.

 

 To place the defendant on probation takes into consideration the defendant’s lack of  any prior criminal record or prior illegal involvement. “So like anyone else without a record who comes before the court, Mr. Paselio will also be given the benefit of probation.” said Judge Patea. “The plea agreement to have the defendant serve a 30-day jail time also recognizes that the defendant is not your typical first time offender. He’s a police officer who everybody holds to a higher standard…”

 

Patea sentenced Paselio to 18 months probation, and told him “during those months you are to remain law abiding at all times. You are to report to the probation office immediately after sentencing this morning and for the rest of the probation period, as they direct you to report.” Paselio is prohibited from consuming any type of alcohol and told that he’ll be subject to  random testing for alcohol use and illegal drugs. The court also requires the defendant to apologize to the victim of the assault and it will be done in the presence of the probation officer.

 

Patea also pointed out that as a condition of probation, the unlicensed firearm involved should be confiscated and destroyed by the Department of Public Safety in the presence of the Marshal of the HIgh Court. For each other count, the defendant was sentenced to 30 days, running concurrently, meaning served at the same time.

 

Patea also ordered the defendant to pay a fine of $1,000 for each count and for the assault charge $800 will be deferred based on the defendant’s good behavior, however $200 must be paid. For the unlicensed firearm $900 will be deferred and $100 must be paid. Further, the total fine of $300 must be paid within 60 days.

 

The judge also denied the request for Paselio to serve jail time on the weekends. “To allow you to do jail time on the weekends would almost render your jail time meaningless. You have to serve a full 30 days,” he told Paselio.

 

He pointed out that Paselio is concerned about “holding on to his job but those are administrative matters and I’m sure that you can take care of that within the administrative realm.”

 

“The court need not get involved in that. After being on the force for 16 years you should have accumulated enough leave at this time to be able to take 30 days off to comply with the sentence.”

 

Regarding the issue of where Paselio is to be housed, Patea pointed out that is an executive decision and the AG’s office needs to figure out where they’re going to place their prisoner.

 

“The court doesn’t get involved with specifying where, unless it’s a juvenile.” He further ordered the AG’s office to communicate with the probation officer to verify reports of defendant’s departure, as that would be the report date for defendant’s sentencing.